WTI crude oil futures rose over 1%, nearing $57 per barrel on Thursday, as geopolitical tensions fueled their recovery from a near five-year low. This surge is driven by the U.S. halting all maritime traffic involving sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela, following the U.S. forces' seizure of a blacklisted tanker off Venezuela’s coast last week. Concurrently, Washington is on the brink of imposing stricter sanctions on Russia's energy sector to further peace negotiations regarding Ukraine, heightening concerns about potential disruptions to the global supply. Additionally, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed a 1.27 million barrel decrease in U.S. crude inventories last week, surpassing the expected 1.1 million barrel decrease and marking the second straight weekly decline. Notably, stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub experienced their most significant drop in nearly two months, despite increases in gasoline and distillate inventories.